Close Read: “His Motto,” Part I | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA 2019 G7:M3:U2:L2

Close Read: “His Motto,” Part I

In this Lesson

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Focus Standards: These are the standards the instruction addresses.

  • RL.7.3, RL.7.6

Supporting Standards: These are the standards that are incidental—no direct instruction in this lesson, but practice of these standards occurs as a result of addressing the focus standards.

  • RL.7.2, RL.7.4, L.7.4, L.7.5
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can explain how the setting shapes the characters and plot in "His Motto." (RL.7.3)
  • I can identify the points of view of Durmond, Hilton, and the "youth" in "His Motto." (RL.7.6)
  • I can explain how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of Durmond, Hilton, and the "youth" in "His Motto." (RL.7.6)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Opening A: Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 2 (RL.7.4)
  • Work Time A: "His Motto" Story Elements note-catcher (RL.7.3, RL.7.6)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes
  • 1. Opening

A. Engage the Learner - RL.7.4 (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Close Read: "His Motto" - RL.7.3 (35 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Explore Themes: "His Motto" - RL.7.2 (5 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Answer Questions: "His Motto," Part I: Students complete Homework: Answer Questions: "His Motto," Part I to analyze point of view and story elements in the first part of the story "His Motto" to demonstrate understanding of the story elements and points of view.

B. Preread "His Motto": Students preread the second half of the story "His Motto" identify and define at least three words of unfamiliar vocabulary in preparation for studying the end of the story in the next lesson. 

Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

  • RL.7.4 – Opening A: On an entrance ticket, students read a mystery quote and write a brief response about its meaning and what it suggests about the story they will read today.
  • RL.7.3 – Work Time A: Students participate in a close read of “His Motto” to explore the elements of the story and how they interact.
  • RL.7.6 – Work Time A: Students participate in a close read of “His Motto” to determine different characters points of view and how they compare and develop.
  • RL.7.2 – Closing and Assessment A: Students work as a class to begin to determine and analyze themes in “His Motto.”
  • In this lesson, students focus on becoming effective learners by working collaboratively during the close read and to answer questions about the text.
  • The Think-Pair-Share protocol is used in this lesson. Protocols are an important feature of our curriculum because they are one of the best ways we know to engage students in discussion, inquiry, critical thinking, and sophisticated communication. A protocol consists of agreed-upon, detailed guidelines for reading, recording, discussing, or reporting that ensure equal participation and accountability in learning.
  • In this lesson’s excerpt of “His Motto,” Robert Hilton shows initiative in suggesting that he can help send Durmont’s message. He also perseveres in the face of Durmont’s prejudice and continues to believe in his own ability.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

  • Release more responsibility more quickly to students as they comprehend the tasks or concepts. For example: 
    • Allow those students who are more readily identifying the elements of the story and understanding different points of view the opportunity to develop their own text-dependent questions about the story. Ask these students to share their questions with the group as a way of generating discussion.
    • Invite students to participate in collaborative discussions regarding the text so they can grow their thinking.
    • Invite students to do a think-aloud explaining how they arrived at a given answer to a text-dependent question.

How It Builds on Previous Work

  • In previous lessons, students have focused on analyzing the techniques that the poets and artists of the Harlem Renaissance used to create meaning in their work. In this lesson, students look more closely at short stories and begin to analyze how elements in the stories interact to create meaning.

Support All Students

  • The subject matter in this excerpt includes descriptions of racism. Continue to monitor students to determine if issues surface from the content of this story that need to be discussed as a whole group, in smaller groups, or individually. To support students in processing this content, ask: “What habit of character did you use as you read and discussed this story?” Students may need to draw on perseverance, empathy, and compassion as they read and discuss this content, being sensitive to their own and others’ reactions to the information presented.
  • Students may need additional support to understand the historical context for the story. Use visual aids to explain how telegraphs worked. ▲
  • Note that there are differentiated versions of the Story Elements: “His Motto,” Part I note-catcher used in Work Time A and Homework: Answer Questions: “His Motto,” Part I used for homework in the separate Teacher's Guide for English Language Learners. ▲

Assessment Guidance

  • Review students’ note-catchers and Questions about the Text to ensure understanding.

Down the Road

  • In the next lesson, students will finish reading “His Motto” and synthesize understanding how the characters, setting, and plot interact as well as how the author develops and contrasts points of view.

In Advance

  • Ensure that there is a copy of Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 2 at each student's workspace.
  • Post the learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Continue to use the technology tools recommended throughout previous modules to create anchor charts to share with families; to record students as they participate in discussions and protocols to review with students later and to share with families; and for students to listen to and annotate text, record ideas on note-catchers, and word-process writing.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 7.I.A.1, 7.I.B.5, 7.I.B.6, and 7.I.C.10.

Important Points in the Lesson Itself

  • To support ELLs, this lesson includes a close read of the first part of the short story "His Motto." The close read is teacher-led and ensures that all students can closely analyze and better comprehend the story.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to answer the text-dependent questions throughout the close read. If possible, display the questions and allow longer think-time for ELLs to formulate their responses and discuss them with a partner before sharing out. Doing so will increase their confidence, comprehension, and language use abilities.

Vocabulary

  • prognostications (A)

Key

(A): Academic Vocabulary

(DS): Domain-Specific Vocabulary

Materials from Previous Lessons

Teacher

Student

  • Academic word wall (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Opening A)
  • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 4, Opening A)
  • Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 5, Work Time A)
  • Harlem Renaissance Themes anchor chart (one for display; from Module 3, Unit 1, Lesson 3, Closing and Assessment A)
  • Vocabulary log (one per student; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 2, Opening A)
  • "His Motto" (text; one per student; from Module 3, Unit 2, Lesson 1, Closing and Assessment A)

New Materials

Teacher

Student

  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 2 (example for teacher reference)
  • Close Reading Guide: "His Motto," Part I (for teacher reference)
  • Story Elements: "His Motto," Part I note-catcher (example for teacher reference) 
  • Harlem Renaissance Themes anchor chart (example for teacher reference)
  • Homework: Answer Questions: "His Motto," Part I (answers for teacher reference) (see Homework Resources)
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 2 (one per student)
  • Story Elements: “His Motto,” Part I note-catcher (one per student)
  • Story Elements: “His Motto,” Part I note-catcher ▲
  • Homework: Answer Questions: “His Motto,” Part I (one per student; see Homework Resources)
  • Homework: Answer Questions: “His Motto,” Part I ▲

Assessment

Each unit in the 6-8 Language Arts Curriculum has two standards-based assessments built in, one mid-unit assessment and one end of unit assessment. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize students' understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

OpeningLevels of Support

A. Engage the Learner - RL.7.4 (5 minutes)

  • Repeated routine: Students respond to questions on Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 2.
  • Once students have completed their entrance tickets, use a total participation technique to review their responses.
  • Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as with the previous lessons to review learning targets and the purpose of the lesson, reminding students of any learning targets that are similar or the same as in previous lessons.

For Lighter Support

  • As necessary, encourage students to work with a partner to develop a word bank or web of vocabulary they can use in their responses. Generating vocabulary will enable them to better write about the quote and its meaning.

For Heavier Support

  • For the entrance ticket, encourage students to work in pairs to first paraphrase the quote and then discuss it. Have a share-out to ensure students fully comprehend the quote before writing about it. Also, encourage students to use the words in the questions to create sentence frames for their responses. As necessary, model doing so with the first question:
    • To me this quote means . . . because . . . 

Work Time

Work TimeLevels of Support

A. Close Read: “His Motto” – RL.7.3 (35 minutes)

  • Review appropriate learning targets relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

“I can explain how the setting shapes the characters and plot in ‘His Motto.’”

“I can identify the points of view of Durmond, Hilton, and the ‘youth’ in ‘His Motto.’”

“I can explain how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of Durmond, Hilton, and the ‘youth’ in ‘His Motto.’” 

  • Focus students on the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart and remind them that digging into the text deeper can help them understand it better, so they are going to dig deeper into an excerpt of the text through close reading.
  • Move students into predetermined triads.
  • Direct students’ attention to the Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart and review what collaboration looks and sounds like.
  • Use Close Reading Guide: “His Motto,” Part I to set the purpose of the close read and to guide students through a close read of this excerpt. Refer to the guide for how to integrate the following:
    • “His Motto” by Lottie Burrell Dixon
    • Story Elements: “His Motto,” Part I note-catcher
    • Story Elements: “His Motto,” Part I note-catcher ▲ as necessary. The differentiated note-catcher supports students’ writing and comprehension with sentence frames. ▲
  • Refer to Story Elements: “His Motto,” Part I note-catcher (example for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning targets.

For Lighter Support

  • In Work Time A, if it wasn’t done in the previous lesson, review the information paragraph at the top of the students’ copies of the story “His Motto” and make sure students understand the setting and what a telegraph machine is. Students who understand the information in the paragraph can paraphrase it for their classmates. Rephrasing the information will ensure that students understand it and give them the opportunity to practice speaking about the setting.
  • Also in Work Time A, if time allows, encourage students to form groups of five to act out the dialogues between Durmont and his doctor and Durmont and the two telegraph boys. Students who need lighter support can take the roles of Durmont, the doctor, and the narrator—reading the lines around the dialogue. Acting out will engage students with the story and reinforce their comprehension of the characters, setting, and plot events.

For Heavier Support

  • In Work Time A, if it wasn’t done in the previous lesson, read the information paragraph at the top of the students’ copies of the story “His Motto” and make sure students understand the setting of the story. If possible sketch or display a picture of a telegraph machine and use pantomime to help students understand that it was used to send messages.
  • Also in Work Time A, if time allows, encourage students to form groups of five to act out the dialogues between Durmont and his doctor and Durmont and the two telegraph boys. Students who need heavier support can take the roles of the boys. Acting out will engage students with the story and increase their comprehension of the characters, setting, and plot events.
  • Finally in Work Time A, encourage students to use the Story Elements: “His Motto,” Part I note-catcher ▲. This resource includes sentence frames that support students in comprehension and writing about the interactions of story elements and how the author develops points of view.

Closing & Assessments

ClosingLevels of Support

A. Explore Themes: "His Motto" - RL.7.2 (5 minutes)

  • Display and draw students' attention to the Harlem Renaissance Themes anchor chart. Ask students to Think-Pair-Share: 

"What possible themes do you see emerging in the text so far?" (Possible response: There is a theme that you should work hard no matter what others think of you, and a theme that prejudice keeps people from recognizing others' humanity and worth.)

"How is the author developing these themes?" (Possible response: The author is developing these themes by showing how Durmont doubts Hilton because of his race and age, but how Hilton remains confident in his own abilities to send a message over wireless.)

  • Add the emerging themes that students identify to the Harlem Renaissance Themes anchor chart. Tell students that they will have an opportunity to return to these themes and confirm or revise them once they finish reading the story.
  • Ask students to Think-Pair-Share about the following question:

"What habits of character did you see in this excerpt? Who demonstrated them? What did they look/sound like?" (Possible response: Hilton shows initiative in suggesting that he can help send Durmont's message. He also perseveres in the face of Durmont's prejudice and continues to believe in his own ability.)

  • Invite students to reflect on the habits of character focus in this lesson, discussing what went well and what could be improved next time.

For Lighter Support

  • Allow students extra think time to identify a theme in the story. As necessary, prompt with questions such as:
    • What are the characters learning about prejudice or believing in yourself? What does the story tell us about prejudice or believing in yourself?

For Heavier Support

  • Provide students with a sentence frame to share their thoughts about theme, so that they have the language structures and aids for comprehension to participate fully in the discussion:
    • The author's message is that prejudice / believing in yourself is _____.

Homework

HomeworkLevels of Support

A. Answer Questions: "His Motto," Part I 

  • Students complete Homework: Answer Questions: "His Motto," Part I to analyze point of view and story elements in the first part of the story "His Motto" to demonstrate understanding of the story elements and points of view.

B. Preread "His Motto"

  • Students preread the second half of the story "His Motto" and identify and define at least three words of unfamiliar vocabulary in preparation for studying the end of the story in the next lesson.

For Lighter Support

  • Before students leave class, ask them to read the homework assignments and discuss them with a partner. Encourage students to spend time brainstorming vocabulary and language structures to write about the emerging theme of the story. 
  • Also, work with students to develop a list of prereading strategies that students who need lighter support can use when prereading on their own. These may include the following:
    • Use an English dictionary to clarify the meaning of unfamiliar words.
    • Ask and answer simple questions about the chapter using who, what, where, when, why, or how questions.
    • Create a “mind-map” to connect important details, characters, or events to one another. 
    • In the margins, take notes on the gist of each paragraph.

For Heavier Support

  • Before students leave class, review the homework assignments and ensure that students understand that they will answer questions and preread the second part of the short story “His Motto.” To ensure success on the homework, encourage students to use the Homework: Answer Questions: “His Motto,” Part I ▲. This resource includes sentence frames which support students in comprehension and writing. 
  • Also, work with students to develop a list of prereading strategies that students who need heavier support can use when prereading on their own. These may include the following:
    • Use a translation dictionary to verify the meaning of unfamiliar words.
    • Skim and scan for the names of key characters, places, or events.
    • Isolate and read the first sentences of each paragraph, noting important plot details.
    • In the margins, illustrate the key plot events of the story.

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